History of Tate Britain

Tate Britain is located in the London borough of Westminster, in an area called Millbank. The name 'Millbank' is from the mill for Westminster Abbey, which is to the east of the gallery.

From 1816–1842 the site where Tate Britain stands was a reformatory prison, where prisoners were given education, training, and social rehabilitation. The prison was larger than Tate Britain is now. It extended further east along Millbank to Erasmus Street in the west, north into the Millbank Estate, and southwards, almost to the river. 

After 1842, it became temporary accommodation for convicts who were to be sent to Australia.

Henry Tate was born in 1819 and was the son of a Unitarian minister, a Christian faith that believe God is a single entity. By the age of twenty, he had bought a business and was soon to become a wholesale grocer. Tate’s business expanded when he started refining his own sugar. He opened a refinery in London where he experimented with developing the sugar cube.

By 1881, Tate bought a house in Streatham, London called Park Hill. It was there that he developed an interest in collecting art. On 23 October 1889, he wrote to the National Gallery to donate his collection of modern British art which was valued at £75,000 which is the equivalent of approximately £6.1 million today.

In 1892 a decision was made to build a new gallery for British art on the site of the former Millbank prison. Henry Tate made an anonymous donation towards the new building. The gallery’s architect was Sidney Smith who was also the architect for several of the libraries in London that Henry Tate founded.

On 21 July 1897 the National Gallery of British Art, as Tate Britain was then called, was opened by the Prince of Wales. The gallery opened to the public on 16 August 1897 and many of its visitors were from the local area.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, history, landscape and marine painter, had left 180 oil paintings, and about 19,000 drawings and watercolours to the nation on his death. He stipulated that a gallery should be built by the National Gallery within five years to house them. It was not possible to honour J.M.W. Turner’s wishes in the 1850s and so the artworks were instead housed in the National Gallery and at the British Museum.

£20,000 was offered by Sir Joseph Joel Duveen to build an extension to the National Gallery of British Art, as Tate Britain was then called. This was on the condition that the extension was used to house Turner’s artworks. The extension was designed by Sir Joseph Joel Duveen’s architect, W.H. Romaine-Walker and work began in August 1908, Duveen died before it was finished.

The new wing opened in July 1910 but there was no royal opening as King Edward VII had recently died. King George V visited the gallery on 9 July 1910, before the public opening on 18 July 1910.

The gallery stayed open until 1916 during First World War. When Zeppelin attacks started, some paintings were taken to Aldwych Tube station.

In 1921 the gallery reopened after some galleries had been redecorated.

Lord Duveen was a benefactor to the gallery and contributed to the building of the Modern Foreign and Sargent Galleries. King George V and Queen Mary attended the opening ceremony on 8 June 1926.

The walls of Tate were breached on 7 January following a storm on 6 January when the Thames embankment wall collapsed at Lambeth Bridge.

Paintings in the lower galleries were damaged and had to be rescued. A total of 226 oil paintings were submerged as a result of the flood. Postcards, catalogues and library books were also damaged.

Water got into the building from under the floor as the former prison vaults had not been completely filled in and water pumps were not available immediately. In a statement by the Director, it was reported that 'by 3pm, [on 7 January] the water in the Lower Basement, which at a depth of 6 feet had been reduced to 3 feet.'

Since its opening in 1897 the Gallery's official title was the National Gallery of British Art, although it was referred to as the Tate Gallery. From 1920 to 1932, it was renamed to the National Gallery, Millbank.

In October 1932, the Trustees agreed to officially adopt Tate Gallery as the Gallery’s title.

The new galleries were opened by King George VI on 29 June 1937. This had been made possible through the generosity of Lord Duveen. The King and Queen toured the galleries.

Arrangements for the evacuation of artworks from Tate Gallery were planned to follow the signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938.

The actual movement of artworks was made just before war broke out. They were transported to Eastington Hall, Upton -on-Severn, The Hellens, Gloucestershire, and Muncaster Castle in Cumberland and some Underground stations.

On 24 August 1939 the gallery closed. King George VI visited the gallery as the final works were taken down.

John Rothenstein and his wife slept in the gallery in September 1940 and witnessed a bomb explosion on 16 September. He said of his experience:

Following two bombs in 1940, John Rothenstein moved out of the gallery. He was alerted when the next bomb hit the gallery via this telegram.

On 6 January 1941 two bombs hit the roof. John Rothenstein wrote:

Plans for the new façade of Tate by Richard Llewellyn-Davies did not gain support due to opposition from the Historic Buildings Committee of the Greater London Council. The public display of the plans alongside a model also generated opposition.

In 1969 the plans were dropped after it was announced that Tate would take over the site of the former Queen Alexandra Military Hospital.

Lord Llewellyn Davies produced the design for the north-east quadrant galleries to house the Modern Collection. The gallery Director, Norman Reid, was keen to increase the amount of daylight in the galleries.

The extension provided new gallery spaces, conservation studios, photographic workshops and storage areas among other facilities.

John Piper also designed the poster to mark the opening of the extension.

On 24 May 1979 Her Majesty The Queen opened the new extension. The opening included a firework display on the Thames, designed by John Piper.

The architects James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates, incorporated a Prints and Drawings Room in the design. This enabled the public to view the sketchbooks.

From 1988–2017, Sir Nicholas Serota was the Director of Tate. During his 28 years at Tate, his vision led to the creation of Tate Modern and the redefinition of the original gallery at Millbank as Tate Britain.

The entrance and staircase of the Centenary Development were named after Tate benefactor, Sir Edwin Manton, who donated £7.5 million. There was no official opening, but Sir Edwin Manton was thanked by Prince Charles at the Centenary Party.

The architects Caruso St John were chosen to refurbish Tate Britain. The design created strong visual connections between all levels of the Rotunda with a marble staircase. It included rooms specifically for school parties, a new café, and a dedicated archive gallery on the lower ground floor. The existing arches and vaults on the lower ground floor were embellished with terrazzo floors.

Caruso St John’s design for the refurbished rotunda drew heavily on the original design. The new central staircase and the floor of the Rotunda was remade with terrazzo, in a pattern reminiscent of the original marble mosaic floor. The Rotunda niches became locations for the display of art.

On 18 November 2013 the new Tate Britain launch party was held.

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